The present invention relates to an apparatus for discharging bulk material. More particularly this invention concerns an apparatus for discharging cinders from the bottom of an incinerator.
It is known to provide a discharge mechanism in the bottom of a furnace wherein coal or the like is burned which comprises an upwardly open pit into which the cinders and the like drop. A water-filled trough at the base of this pit is provided with a horizontally displaceable plunger or pusher which can be reciprocated to displace cinders which have dropped into the trough laterally therefrom. As soon as the cinders hit the water they are quenched, and this water also forms a fluid seal which prevents potentially harmful gases from escaping from the furnace, incinerator, or the like. Such an arrangement, as described in German Pat. Nos. 867,121 and 972,396 as well as in my earlier U.S. Pat. No. 3,734,037, works extremely well so long as the material being discharged is of relatively even consistency, that is so long as no large bulky objects are present in the bulk material being discharged.
When, however, it is necessary to discharge the cinders from the bottom of an incinerator being used to burn up missellaneous refuse, problems frequently occur. In particular when large incombustible or uncombusted masses, such as motors, engine blocks, and the like, fall into the discharge arrangement, this arrangement can become jammed. Such jamming is usually due to the fact that the main face of the plunger does not pull all the way back from beneath the pit. More often this main face simply pulls approximately half way back, so that if the jamming object cannot fit between it and the edge of the pit it will merely remain on top of the plunger as this plunger reciprocates back and forth. In order to pull the plunger all the way back it is necessary to redimension the entire device and otherwise redesign it, which is not practical in most applications.